Shane stared at Lilli from the other side of the table. She looked exhausted. At one point, during the night, he had fallen asleep with his head on the table. If she had fallen asleep he didn't know. But it looked as if she hadn't. She stretched her body across the seat and just stared at the door.
The two had gotten into a little argument the night before. Lilli wanted Shane and Sara to sleep inside of the inn, but both refused her request. She wasn't very happy that they chose to stay out with her. It was clear that she was trying to find a way to punish herself. Shane didn't give a damn about Georgia or her feelings.
He had come to the decision last night. He would follow whatever Lilli decided to do. If the group kicked her out then he would go with her and take what belonged to him. Shane knew Rick enough to know that he wouldn't stop Shane. But at the same time, he knew that Rick would try what he could to not have the group split up.
"Would you stay if Rick asked you to?" Shane asked, breaking the silence.
Lilli frowned as she slowly looked at him. She opened her mouth to answer then closed it. "I don't know," she finally admitted.
"If you did would you try to hurt Georgia again?" he couldn't help but ask.
Lilli shook her head. "I hate that woman," she said as she clenched her fists. "I will not save her from any walker attack. But I won't kill her. My hands hurt too much."
Shane snorted. It wasn't a very good joke, but it was clear that she was trying to lighten the mood a little. "Let's get away from here, then," Shane almost pleaded.
"We can't run away, Shane," she said, finally looking into his eyes. "If they don't want me around then I'll go. But I can't run away. My group has never run into other survivors who had kids with them. I can't leave Sara, but it would be unfair to force her to leave."
"Why don't we go to that place in South Carolina?" Sara's voice caused Lilli to jump in surprise. Lilli gulped as she sat up straight and Sara sat next to her. "Didn't they say that they had a cure? Why not go there?"
"Because they're liars," Lilli said softly.
"You don't know that," Sara said. "It could be real! And grandpa could be there."
Lilli gave her a quick glance then let out a small smile. "You must be hungry," she said. She looked at Shane expectantly and he let out a sigh.
"Let's go get something to eat, Sara," he said as he stood up and stretched.
"Are you coming too?" Sara asked her guardian.
The young woman shook her head. "I want to stay and think for a while," she said then winked. "I'll be there later. Okay?"
Sara crinkled her nose, but then nodded in agreement. Shane felt like objecting, but realized that it was going to be futile. He let out a sigh as he shook his head. He didn't want to get into another argument with Lilli. "Let's go," he said to Sara as they left the RV.
Lilli sat in the RV and thought. Part of her wanted to run away. It would be easier for her to just leave without anyone noticing. She had survival skills and she could probably find another group of survivors with little problem. But then that meant leaving Sara and Shane alone. Shane would be furious. He would hate her forever. And Sara? The little girl would have trust issues. She would probably never be able to trust anyone again. And why would she? Lilli, her last known living blood relative, left her when she needed her the most.
No, Lilli couldn't do that to them. She had to face whatever came. After all, she had faced everything else head on.
"I will tell them everything," she said out loud. That confirmation surprised her. Yes, they needed to know. They needed to know the truth about her. They needed to know that Sara was her niece. They needed to know that she helped spread this infection. She was tired of secrets. She didn't even know why she kept them anymore.
If her brother and her hadn't been afraid, and if they had told everyone… She stopped thinking and shook her head. She could say "if" all she wanted, but in the end she couldn't go back in time. The only thing she could do was tell them the truth.
A quick knock on the door brought Lilli back to the present. "Shane!" she said, assuming that it was him. "I really don't…" she swung the door open and stopped midsentence. Her eyes grew wide with horror as she shook her head. "Oh no," she whispered.
He stopped her from closing the door and punched her. She fell back and slammed her head against one of the steps. That action caused her to lose consciousness.
Shane, Dale, Rick, Lori and Georgia sat in the meeting room. They had gotten together to discuss Lilli. It wasn't going to be an official decision. Rick was firm that he wanted everyone to be present in the final decision, including Lilli. But they were together to talk.
They had decided not to have Sara relive the events of the previous night so Lucy was taking care of her. Shane had to be in this small meeting, since Georgia was there. He couldn't let her get away with any lies if she tried. Neither girl was there to contradict her story, but he had been present during the whole exchange. Dale was a smart and wise man. Rick relied on his advice. He hadn't been present at the attack so he wanted to hear from each side what they had to say.
Shane had asked for Lilli to be present, but Dale didn't think that would be wise. He wanted to hear each of their stories without interruption. After they talked with Georgia the three would go out to talk with Lilli.
"She tried to kill me," Georgia jumped in, not even bothering to start from the beginning. Her face was swollen from the beating she received. They had been unable do much to get the swelling down. There was no ice or coldcuts available to put on her face. And since it wasn't life threatening Lucy decided not to give her any major medicine. They did what they could to ease the swelling, but it wasn't much.
"Why don't we start from the beginning?" Dale asked.
Georgia winced in pain when she tried to speak again. Dale reached out for her hand but she slapped him away.
"Georgia told Sara that she killed her father," Shane finally said.
"I'm sure that it wasn't exactly like that," Dale said, shaking his head. "Let her speak, Shane."
"It was," Rick replied with a sigh.
Dale looked at Georgia in surprise and the older woman looked away. It was quite clear that she was still angry, but she couldn't show much emotion on her face.
"That woman was lying to the little girl. She kept the girl's hopes up for months. The little girl thought that her father was coming for her," Georgia's words were very monotone since she could barely move her mouth.
"So you told a little girl that you killed her father?" Dale asked in surprise.
Georgia looked away. "I was angry."
"But to tell a little girl." Dale was horrified by her admittance.
Rick nodded his head. "What are we going to do?" he asked.
"We aren't going to force her away from the group!" Shane snapped. "We need her and yes, she did snap, but for good reason."
"She could have killed me!" Georgia stated.
Shane glared at her. "And she's done more for our group than you have."
"Shane!" Rick snapped.
Georgia stood up. "She doesn't deserve to be with us," she hissed.
"And why not?" Shane asked with venom in his voice.
"What more reason than she tried to kill me," Georgia said. "No matter what I said, they were only words. What if a child got her angry?"
Lori nodded her head.
"It doesn't make sense," Dale said, shaking his head. "We've been able to enjoy our time here. Nothing major has happened to any of us. We have food, water, beds, clothing. I haven't felt more than the usual tension from anyone. Sure there have been fights between people, but nothing like this. I can't think of any reason why anyone snap like that."
"He wasn't just my father," Sara said. Everyone turned and looked at the little girl. They hadn't realized that she was in the room.
"Honey, this matter…" Lori started to say but Sara interrupted her.
"It does concern me!" Sara snapped. She glared at Georgia. "He was immuned," she said. "He had been bit before, when we were in California. I don't care to keep the secret anymore." She seemed to be intoxicated with her words as she yelled them. Everyone stared at her in surprise. "He just went a little crazy the first time. But two days later he was fine. He stopped trying to eat me and looked normal. He was on his way here, because my grandpa is a great scientist. My father knew where my grandpa was. He would have taken us to the real haven. You have no idea what you did. If you force her to leave then I'm going with her. If grandfather is alive and we find him then we'll make sure that you never get allowed to stay where he is at!" Sara turned and ran out of the room before any of them could say anything.
Rick looked at Shane and realized that his friend was just as surprised about Sara's revelation as was everyone else.
"I must apologize," Georgia said as she stood up and walked out of the room.
The sound of a little girl's scream caused everyone to run into the lobby. Sara was fighting against the door as something roughly pushed it open. She flew across the room and landed in a little heap on the floor.
Michael stood at the entrance.
"Michael!" Georgia snapped as she started toward him. "Jackass."
He looked up and everyone stopped moving. There was no doubt that he wasn't alive anymore. There was a bite wound on his neck that had dry blood on it. His skin was leathery and his eyes were abnormally orange. His lips were permanently curled back, revealing a large row of teeth.
"Shit," Shane hissed as he looked around for a weapon. Why didn't they have any lying around? He spotted a bat and grabbed it. He let out a scream as he swung the bat at Michael.
The elderly, undead man, moved at the last second. The pure force that Shane used would have obliterated Michael's skull as well as the bat. Instead, it smashed into Michael's right arm. They could hear the crunch as the bones shattered into thousands of pieces. Then Michael did something that no walker ever did. With his good hand he grabbed the bat and pulled it out of Shane's grasp.
Shane had been surprised by the move and stared at Michael.
"Impossible," Rick whispered.
Michael's impossible bright orange eyes wandered between everyone then he let out a raspy laugh. At least, that's what Rick thought it almost resembled. He swung the bat with his good arm then took a step further into the inn. Everyone shrank back. This thing was like no walker they had ever seen. It scared them. It was smart.
Suddenly, it lunged at Sara and grabbed her foot, pulling her along the ground. The little girl screamed as she struggled.
"Sara!" Lilli yelled as she ran into the inn.
"No!" Shane yelled as he reached his hand out as if it would prevent her from moving further in.
Michael swung the bat and Lilli collapsed onto her knees as she bent back. The weapon barely missed her. She struggled to her feet as Michael's good arm let Sara go and grabbed Lilli by the hair. He thrusted her forward and grabbed Sara as the little girl ran. Then he put his back against the wall and held Sara up so that her body protected his.
"What the fuck?" Daryl yelled as he ran into view, with crossbow ready to fire.
"Don't hurt her!" Lilli shrieked as she spat out blood.
Michael hid his face behind Sara whose eyes widened with fear. There was no way Daryl could kill him.
"Daryl, lower the bow!" Lilli commanded.
"Fuck no," Daryl snapped back.
"Do it," Lilli stated firmly.
Daryl hesitated, but then slowly lowered his crossbow.
She breathed heavily as Michael peaked his head out. Sara was sobbing as she shook. "Put her down. You're not one of them. You don't have to do this," she commanded. She held up her right hand, trying to appease him.
"Michael," Rick said slowly as if he were talking to a mere human. "Put her down. I know you're in there." He tried to sound calm and gave Lilli a quick glance before looking back at Michael.
Michael stared at Lilli who tensed. With his bad hand he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. The fact that he could do that without even the hint of pain was off-putting. Finally, he revealed a locket. He held it in front of him.
"Oh shit," Lilli whispered when she spotted the locket.
He snarled and Sara whimpered. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and bit.
Rick wasn't sure who was screaming. Lilli's arm was in Michael's mouth. Somehow, she had moved fast enough and placed her arm in his mouth. She forced Sara out of his grasp as he bit hard, causing her to scream in pain. He let her go then moved as a bolt slammed into his neck. Lilli held her arm as she took a step back.
Michael ran out of the inn. Daryl would have followed, but he knew better. This thing had dodged his attacks and held a little girl hostage. Its arm was broken and yet it seemed to have thoughts. He didn't know what he was up against and he wasn't going to risk fighting the thing alone.
"Lilli, shit," Shane yelled as he rushed over to his girlfriend. Her arm was bleeding from the bite mark. "Why did you do that?" He yelled as he reached for her. Then, he seemed to remember that she was bit and quickly retracted his arms.
Lucy rushed over and grabbed Lilli's arm. "What am I supposed to do, Lils?" she asked. "What am I supposed to do?" It was clear that Lucy didn't care.
Lilli stared at her arm. The flesh had been torn into, but not torn off. Blood pooled out of the bite wound and it would leave a bite size scar. But Michael's intent wasn't to rip her flesh off. It was to infect her.
"No!" Sara screamed as she rushed over to Lilli and hugged her. "You can't die on me!" she shouted as she pulled back and slapped the woman. "You promised daddy that you would take care of me. I lost too much. Please, don't die on me, aunt Lilli!" She sobbed as she buried her head in Lilli's chest.
Hesitantly, Lilli lifted her non-bitten arm and hugged Sara. "I'll be alright," she whispered. "I'll be fine," she said in a calm voice.
"South Carolina," Georgia said.
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
"That group. They said that they have a cure. We should all go. Michael…" she paused and shook her head. "Whatever that thing was he was different from the others. He came here and knew that we were dangerous. We're not safe here anymore. If he could think to keep himself alive from Daryl, then he can think of a way to get inside. Maybe even bring some of his friends along. We can't stay. I can't stay."
"We should leave today," Lori said with fear.
Rick looked at everyone then over at Lilli. Lucy was escorting her to the infirmary.
"Yeah," Rick said, nodding his head. "We need to leave."
Rick, Shane, Dale and Daryl waited for Lucy to finish bandaging Lilli before they closed the door behind the nurse. Initially, Rick wanted to be alone with Lilli, but Daryl refused to let him. Michael wasn't a normal walker and Daryl wasn't going to take any chances with Lilli. No one knew if she would turn faster or slower than the others.
Although Shane trusted Rick to keep Lilli safe he didn't trust Daryl. As for Dale, he said he had to be there. He had had enough of sitting on the sidelines.
Lilli picked at her bandage and didn't look at them. "I don't know if I'm immune," she said before anyone could say anything. "I know she told you. About Gabby, her father, my brother."
"What do you know?" Rick asked.
"Gabby was bit by a walker. A normal walker," she replied. "Twice. The first time his body fought off the virus and he returned to normal after a couple of days. The second time he was killed before his body could fight it. He would have been fine. If I am like my brother then I'm immune to the normal walkers. Not the others…" she paused as she looked at them. "But Georgia is right. We're not safe here anymore."
"How do you know you're not immune to them all?" Shane asked as he crossed his arms. He couldn't help but hope. What made her think she was only immune to one type?
Lilli bit her lip then nodded her head. "I was going to tell you today," she said. "I just… didn't think it would be like this." She stopped talking and took in a deep breath. "My sister was one of the first victims," she said after she let her breath go.
Everyone looked at her in surprise. She sounded so sure.
"We were attacked," she continued, not allowing anyone to interrupt her. "My sister came home and surprised me. She could have called." She shook her head at the memory. "But she wanted to see my face when she told me that she was pregnant. And then she… the thing attacked. She killed Jess's husband then chased after us. It had bit her before we got out of the house." Tears ran down her cheeks as her voice cracked. "I knew something was wrong. But I didn't care."
"Michael found us. I forced him to fly to Frankfort where my father was, at the time. My father is a scientist and he knew the best doctors. I was hoping that we would be able to contact him before my sister got worse. But she died when we passed over the city."
Lilli paused and took a few deep breaths. "We landed at the hospital, and she woke up. She went crazy and started biting people. I got in the way of a bullet which is when I got shot in the shoulder. They hit her heart. But of course, she got up and started attacking."
"Fuck. So you helped spread this fucking mess?" Daryl snarled.
Lilli looked at him then nodded.
"No!" Dale said shaking his head. "It wasn't your fault. How were you to know that this would be the result? You were looking out for your family."
"So what?" Shane asked. "You could still be immune to this thing? Your sister wasn't but your brother was."
Lilli sighed. "Maybe," she finally said, but it was clear that she wasn't convinced.
"He was hell bent on punishing you," Rick said, speaking about Michael. "Why?"
Lilli looked down. "I'm sure he blames my father because my father asked him to check on me. They had been best friends since they were children. If Michael hadn't checked on me and if there was a plague then he would have been with his family now, dead or alive. Michael can't forgive my father for pulling him away. Since my father isn't here then he focused on me."
"What about the locket?" Daryl asked.
"What?" Lilli was surprised by his question.
"That the old man held up. You were surprised and not happy to see it. What does it mean?" he snarled.
"It belonged to his wife," she said. "He must have found her body and it drove him to this."
Shane's eyebrows rose with surprise. It was a bold-face lie. He didn't know how or why he knew, but he knew that she was lying about that.
"We should get ready to go. The gate was still closed when I left the RV which means that he climbed over a car," she said, changing the subject. "I'll answer any more questions when we're safe."
"Christ," Rick said, shaking his head. "Shane," he motioned for his long-time friend.
Shane gave Lilli one last glance before he walked out with Rick. The two had to make sure that they got the most important items with them before they left.
Dale gave Lilli a weak smile. "At least," he said. "There's a possibility that you're immune. If not, we're going to a place where they claim they have a cure."
Lilli gave him a weak smile in return and nodded her head. "Dale, I need to speak to Daryl alone please," she whispered.
He opened his mouth to protest then nodded as he left. He knew why she wanted to be alone with Daryl.
"I don't want you to wait a few days to see if I get better," she said without missing a beat.
Daryl nodded his head.
"I know Shane will hate you. And he won't listen if I tell him it's for the best. My brother may have been able to shake off the virus, but I don't know if I can. And I'm not sure how… 'smart' I'll be when it happens. I'll want to eat people. Even my brother wanted to eat people when his body fought the infection. But, please. I want you to kill me when the time comes."
Daryl's eyes narrowed as he thought. "Fine," he simply said.
"Thank you," she said softly. There was an awkward silence between the two as they walked out of the room.
Lilli clenched her good hand. Daryl was a good man. As much as Shane didn't like him, they both knew that the minute Daryl killed her then Shane would loath him with a passion. But, it was a burden that Daryl was willing to bear.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. Had trouble with this chapter. Hope you continue to enjoy. Will she be cured on time? Will Daryl have to kill her? Who knows (okay, I do). I will tease that Eve and Jess will make an appearance in the next chapter. And someone is going to die for good.
Shippolove844 – Andrea is really getting on my nerves. I really hope the second half of the season makes her better. And Rick needs better characterization as well.
Hiei's Ice Queen – Glad you enjoyed my story so far. We'll have to see what happens with Lilli now that she's bit.